The Genius Cooks

Recently, I decided to try and start getting the girls to help cook on  a more regular basis, but also to make it special one-on-one time.  The Genius was up first.  She chose grilled chicken, rice and pot stickers (well mommy may have suggested the menu....).  She did GREAT!  She even loaded the dishwasher and washed the counters and a few dishes.  I loved the time just with her.  She loved learning all about cooking.  Because it was just the two of us we discussed measurements and how to read and follow a recipe, I let her use a REAL knife, turn on burners and stir boiling water and stuff. It was awesome and her meal was delicious!!!

Transition

I have weaned the Professor onto a cup!  We have not nursed in almost two weeks now.  He pretty much will only drink from a straw cup but that is fine with me.  He also hates formula and refuses to drink it (can't blame him) so I am still pumping.  But the little guy has teeth and he was a biter.  Nothing was getting him to stop.  I have had to supplement some because the pumps are just not as effective as a baby.  We have been using goats milk.  I am sure some of you think that is totally freaky, but the research says otherwise.  He loves it!  We are also introducing whole milk, full fat, organic yogurt.  I cannot wait to see what he thinks of it!  Even though it was hard on ME emotionally to quit nursing him, he handled it just fine! He had one sort of fussy day and that was it.  In fact, he seems much more content now.  He was getting up 1-2 times a night and now he is sleeping 11 hours EVERY single night and has completely put himself on a schedule!  This served as a good reminder to me that in parenthood things never go as planned.  I nursed the Professor longer than either of the girls and had planned to nurse him for the first year.  But, things change.  Life happens.  Part of being a parent is being able to let those expectations go and realize that it really is ok.  You plan to not let your child have sweets til they are two, but someone slips them some ice-cream, it really will be ok.  You never want to yell, but one day you do, but guess what?  It really is ok!  Our kids are well-loved, happy, healthy and surrounded by friends and family who love them and we could not ask for more...except for a job for my husband =)
Have a great weekend!

From one big sister to another

We have some friends at our church who were pregnant with their third child.  Their other two children are 4 and 8.  Their 8 year old daughter is in class with the Genius.  Our friends had their daughter a few days ago.  Their 8 year old daughter was excitedly telling the Genius that she was a big sister again and how neat it was.  The Genius told her, "Well enjoy it. They grow up SO fast!"  LOL!

Cabbage Soup

I have to share this new recipe.  It is awesome and really healthy for you as well.

Cut up 3-4 potatoes (skin on) into small bite-size pieces.  In a covered skillet, cook the potatoes in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Keep them covered and stir occassionally, til the potatoes are getting soft and little brown.  Then add in 1 chopped onion and 4 cloves of chopped garlic.  add in a dash of pepper. Cook about 2 minutes.
Put into crock pot, along with 5 cups chicken broth, half a head of finely chopped cabbage and 2 cans of rinsed and drained white beans.  Cook on low for about 6 hours and enjoy!

Enter it into a calorie counter site.  It makes about 12 servings and is less than 300 calories a bowl!  So yummy and full of fiber and quite a few vitamins.

Let me know if you try this one!

Grass

We had some spring-like weather and I took the Professor outside to enjoy the grass for the first time.  He was so cute!  At first he just sat.  Then he kinda patted the grass.  Then he started whacking the grass.  THEN he started grabbing fistfulls of grass and trying to eat it.  LOL!  He is a cutie!!!

Siblings

Love these three kids!!

A Book Review

I do not know about you, but I LOVE a good Christian fiction book about the Amish.  But what I love even more is THREE Christian fiction books about the Amish all in one book!  That is exactly what I got in the book What the Heart Sees by Kathleen Fuller.  This book is a collection of three different stories.  A Miracle for Miriam, A Place of His Own, and What the Heart Sees.  Each story has characters that stay with you.  You want to keep reading and learning about Miriam, Seth, Josiah, Amanda, Ellie and Christopher.  The characters really seem to come to life and the stories draw you in.  As a stay-at-home mommy, I was quite tempted to stay up late and finish the stories!  I also loved that the collection includes some Amish recipes and also a guide if you are part of a reading group.  And for $14.99 you cannot beat the value…remember…it is THREE books in one for the price.  If you are searching for a good, uplifting read, please make sure you check out this book.

Our Lil' Cowgirl

Animals

I think I may have mentioned watching a documentary on the rivers of Africa with the girls.  It was a really good show!  There were some Cape Buffalo in it.  The Hippie asked what they were and I told her.  She starts singing..."Cake Buffalo! Cake Buffalo! They are so pretty and black and I love Cake Buffalo!"  I said, CAPE, not CAKE."  She said, "Oh, well, I still like 'em."  LOL!  What a cutie!

What do little girls dream of?

Well, if you are the Hippie....all kinds of things.  She dreams about people, animals and just plain crazy things!  She gets it from her mom.  I have always had weird dreams and as a child I had a lot of very vivid and scary dreams.  I ended up in my parents room...a lot!  The Hippie is the same way.  She ends up coming into our room at least once a week.  Recently she had a bad dream and even though it is kinda morbid, I also thought it was pretty stinking cute!  She dreamed that I died (no, I thought that was horrible!).  But Daddy did not know how to cook anything.  All of our kids were hungry and Daddy could not figure out how to feed them and that really scared her. LOL!  Maybe I have a horrid sense of humor, but I honestly thought it was kinda cute!

Our Date with the Hippie

When the Professor was born, the Hippie became the middle child.  After 5+ years of being the baby, she was now a big sister.  Top that off with a big move away from her friends, my husband being out of work and her first experience with public school and it has been a tough time for her.  We have recently been dealing with a lot of emotions from her.  We decided she needed a date with Mommy and Daddy.  We also felt she really needed an outlet.  So we did some searching and found some very inexpensive horse riding lessons, and with some help from family, got her signed up.  Her special date began by getting a card from us on Friday with a "formal" invitation to her date today.  The date started off by visiting a horse farm.  We met a lady there (her new horse teacher) and she introduced us to the horse the Hippie will ride...Lil Cami.  The Hippie was so excited!!! She even spoke to her new teacher!  After that, a quick trip for a new pair of riding boots.  Afterwards a trip to the ice cream store where we told her all the reasons why we love her and gave her an engraved locket.  You could just see her lighting up.  She gave us lots of hugs and kisses.  I feel I just add that we NEVER spend money like this when we take the kids on dates.  Usually we do free things, but sometimes you have a child that just needs to be the special one for a bit.  It was the Hippie's turn today.  She really needed this time.  I am so glad she is our daughter and we are all blessed for having her in our lives.  She can light up a room with her smile, has the best laugh ever and has eyes that can melt anyone's heart.  We love her so much!

Her sparkly new cowboy boots!  Soon they will be caked in mud.

The locket!!

And of course ice cream!

Lunch Time

We are lucky.  We have a relatively local farm that delivers fresh produce to our door each week.  ALL is 100% USDA Certified Organic and either locally grown, or grown at farms that maintain those standards.  I love it!  We love the variety, the freshness and the way it challenges us to try new fruits and/vegetables we might not usually buy.  Today for lunch, the fours of us at home, all benefited from the box.  My hubby and I had DELICIOUS salads, the Professor had a mashed banana and the Genius had a vitamin C packed orange!  Here are some photos to make you wish you were at our house hungry and/or inspired.

Moire Ickies

Now the Genius is home sick.  She was not able to go to school today because she was running a fever.  She has a runny nose and aches and stuff.  It looks like we will be taking her to the doctor in the morning.  Her fever was really high today.  I feel like I have nothing to blog about, but I can think of one cute quote from the Hippie.  We were watching a documentary on Africa today.  It was about a big river in Africa.  They movie was showing all kinds of animals.  The Hippie said, "Man.  Africa's water animals sure are busy."  She is so cute!

Round 2

Well, the Professor is sick again.  Thursday his cough (which he has had since the ear infection) got worse.  Friday it was a little more worse and we debated on taking him to the doctor, but since he was eating and playing opted not to.  Saturday he woke up and sounded awful!  We eventually drove him 30 minutes away to Urgent Care.  We were fortunate because the place was not busy at all.  He got right in and was given a breathing treatment and 2 meds.  He was diagnosed with Bronchitis.  But she said he could be on the edge of getting RSV or pneumonia.  She said if he seemed worse to not mess around, just take him to the ER.  This morning he was wheezing and when he coughed it sounded like he would drown.  So we took him to the ER.  They gave him another breathing treatment and sent us home with an inhaler.  That inhaler helped him SO much!  He was able to eat food again and just perked up within an hour.  While I am beyond thankful to have easy access to healthcare, I do hate having our little guy on all these meds, but I am also very thankful because we were holding our breath every time he coughed.  Hope everyone else is staying healthy!

Friends

Are you blessed with a good friend or friends?  I do not mean the kind you meet up with if you have nothing better do and they don't really annoy you.  I mean, the kind of friends you can count on.  When something really great, or awful, happens to you their name comes to mind.  Obviously, my husband is that for me.  He is always there for me and he really does listen to me.  But, I am talking about your girl friends.  I am very fortunate because I have four of those kinds of friends.  Four people who are the ones who get my calls and emails when things are going good, bad, or simply because I want to talk.  Unfortunately, NONE of them live near me.  We have moved away from all of them.  They are 4-20 hours away.  One of my dearest friends is Belinda.  We talk almost every week.  I know that if I need her I can call at any time...and she means it.  When she says she is praying, she means it.  She has 5 wonderful boys.  When she just had 3 boys, we dreamed of being pregnant together.  That dream did come true for us, the Professor and he youngest boy are 2 months apart in age, but we were not in the same state any more so we relied on phone calls etc.  Belinda and I are still very close and have not seen each other in THREE YEARS.  That is about to change.  In June, her husband came up with the idea of going out of their way on a family vacation so we can reunite our families!  To say I am excited is just an underestimate.  I was crying when we hung up.  I cannot wait to see her and her family!!! I will get to hold her "baby" for the first time, but he will already be a year old by then.  She will see our girls and meet the Professor for the first time.  I just cannot wait!  I hope that all of you are blessed with friends like mine!!!! 

Name that Game

We found this girls playing this game outside the other day.  Maybe it will be the newest trend?  LOL!

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Until you look at these pictures of the Professor.  Seriously.  He has got to be the cutest little baby ever!  He has a great smile, a great laugh and has just started dancing.  He keeps us all smiling and laughing and provides hours of entertainment for all of us.